It was a gorgeous summer afternoon out in California where you and the rest of the Avengers were spending a little r & r at the beach. After a particularly grueling month of missions, you and the rest of your friends had come to the consensus that you all desperately needed a break from chasing after bad guys, trading in your gear for swimsuits and sunscreen. You were especially thrilled to get back to your California roots.
"That's it, guys!" You yelled out excitedly as Natasha flew around the curved road, bringing the exquisite shoreline into sight. You were literally bouncing in your seat, your face lighting up like a kid on Christmas. You couldn't help it; while you liked the energy in New York, nothing could ever replace the way you felt hearing the roar of the Pacific, immersing yourself in its swirling waters and watching the sunlight sparkle.
Bruce laughed and you turned to face him, still smiling. "What?!" You asked your boyfriend, hitting him with your elbow. "I'm just happy to be back." "I know," Bruce replied with a smile, rubbing his thumb on your upper thigh. "You're adorable when you're excited." You closed your eyes as he brought his lips to yours gently. You'd been dating for months now, and you still felt your heart speed up whenever you kissed. You were head over heels for the shy scientist, and he felt the same about you. "Aw, look at you two cuties," Clint called from the passenger seat. You made a face at Clint, interlacing your fingers with Bruce's as you pulled into the beach lot.
"HONEY, I'M HOME!" you yelled out as soon your bare feet touched the sand, laughing with delight and twirling around in the sand before falling lightly onto your back, letting out a contented sigh as you stared up at the cloudless, exhilaratingly blue sky. Bruce laid down on his back next to you for a minute before you rolled over onto your side to face him.
"Helloooo handsome," you said flirtatiously, wiggling your fingers at him. He shook his head and smiled at you, gently smoothing out your sand-covered locks. "Hey, beautiful," he murmured." You placed a hand on his chest. "You need sunscreen now otherwise that nice body of yours is gonna get torched," you said, digging through your bag. You squeezed out a generous portion onto your hands, slopping it onto him as messily as possible. "Jesus, Y/N," he cried out laughing as you giggled and drew white stripes across his cheeks. "That's it," he said, turning to attack you in return as you shrieked when the cold cream hit your skin. "I AM JUST TRYING TO PROTECT YOU DOCTOR, HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF SKIN CANCER?" You yelled out through your laughter as you both stood up, attempting to smear the most sunscreen on each other before collapsing back down in a fit of giggles. Bruce put his arm around you, kissing your now SPF 30-ed cheek and smiling. "God, I love you, Y/N." "And I love you, Bruce." Bringing your lips to his, you maneuvered yourself into his lap as his one arm wrapped around your lower back, returning the kiss with his other hand grasping at your hair. All of a sudden, you felt a gust of wind that only meant one thing. You smiled slightly, pulling away to look up at the shirtless silvery blond now standing next to you two.
Pietro grinned apologetically. "Sorry, you guys. I did not mean to interrupt. But Y/N, you will still teach me to surf like you promised?" He asked, his eyes lighting up with excitement. You pulled yourself up off Bruce, dusting some sand of your turquoise bikini top and black board shorts. "It would be my pleasure, Speedy." "Great! Let's go now!" Pietro took your hand – you barely had time to grab your board before you were at the edge of the shore with him.
Bruce sat up cross legged, smiling to himself with the feeling of your mouth on his still lingering. He looked around as the rest of the team trailed in: Wanda carrying a stack of beach reads, Natasha and Clint chatting animatedly as they passed a frisbee back and forth, Thor tying his hair up into a messy bun, Steve carrying 3 massive coolers of drinks on his own and Tony strutting down the beach with his towel tied like a cape around him. He sat down next to Bruce with a loud "ahhhh." "So," Tony started, "Passing up hanging ten out there with your girlfriend, Doc?" "I'd end up drowning if I tried that," Bruce said laughing. "I'll let her focus on Speedy, he was practically crying when she said she'd teach him."
Bruce and Tony stared off at you and Pietro. The Sokovian watched you intently as you showed him how to get up onto the board correctly. His eyes darted around while you weren't looking, following the curves of your body and lingering on your chest and ass. Bruce's hands clenched involuntarily.
"Looks like you got a little competition!" Tony jeered. "Just kidding, he's harmless; homewrecking isn't his style. But," Tony continued in a tone that Bruce knew meant trouble, "What are you gonna do when a real threat comes along?"
Bruce's face set in a hard line. "I'm not worried about that, Tony." "Really?" Tony quipped. "Because if I had a girlfriend that looked like – well that –," he said waving his hands in your general direction, "On a beach full of dreamy surf gods and rugged shirtless hippies, I'd be a little more concerned with claiming your territory. You know?" Bruce said nothing, trying to keep his anxiety from spiraling into something well, a little more green.
"Tony," Bruce suddenly started through gritted teeth. "Lay off." "Whaaat? I'm just looking out for you buddy. Last thing I would want is to have Y/N having some Channing Tatum fuckboy drooling on her trying to get a piece of that -" "TONY, ENOUGH," Bruce yelled out. That was it. Bruce fell onto his hands as he felt himself getting swept over with panic and rage, unbridled and untamed. He pulled at his hair, desperately trying to regain control. For once in his life, Tony didn't have a smart remark. "Oh shit, Bruce," his eyes widening. Bruce let out a roar of frustration and Tony took three steps back. "I didn't mean -" "Get - people - off - the - beach," Bruce choked out in reply, falling onto his back.
You heard Bruce's yell from the edge of the water, your neck immediately snapping around. "Bruce?" You looked and saw him writhing on the ground, Tony backing away. "Son of a bitch," you muttered, your throat tightening with panic. Pietro grabbed your hand again as you two whisked to Bruce's side. The rest of the team had got there already, starting to clear people off the beach. You slid to your knees in front of Bruce, tilting his face toward you. "Bruce? I'm right here, babe. It's Y/N, you're gonna be ok. You can fight this." Bruce looked up at you and with a sinking feeling in your chest, you saw his warm
chocolate-colored eyes changing colors. "I can't," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." You had seen the other guy in battle when he was relatively in control, but Bruce had yet to "Hulk out" since the two of you started dating. You swallowed the lump in your throat. "OK. It's gonna be ok. You aren't going to hurt anyone. We won't let it happen."
You turned angrily to Tony. "What the fuck did you say to him?!" You snarled out. "You're the only one here stupid enough to push him to this!" "I was just kidding with him!" Tony yelled back. "Do you think I wanted this to happen?" "Y/N, you can maim Stark later, we've got to move, now!" Clint called out. "I'm not leaving Bruce here!" "Oh yes you are," Nat called back, grabbing your arm. "Let Thor and Cap and Tony try to bring him down first. Banner will kill us if we let anything happen to you." With the combined effort of Natasha, Wanda and Pietro, you let yourself get dragged off further behind a sand dune.
You had been watching the chaos for a few minutes now as the other guy took massive swings at your friends who were trying fruitlessly to subdue him. "This isn't working," you yelled in frustration. "He's going to hurt them, they aren't going about this the right way. He's just scared and upset." "Not to be a dick, Y/N, but do you have a better idea?" Pietro asked. You looked out at Hulk, but to you, he was just Bruce. A Bruce that was in a lot of pain, and you couldn't stand it. "Maybe," you said, darting out of Clint's grip and sprinting off toward the direction of Hulk's roars. The boys all saw you coming and temporarily stopped attacking. "Back off," you yelled out. "Are you crazy?!" Steve yelled. "JUST DO IT!" You roared back. Your intensity did the trick and all three of them moved away.
You took a deep breath and walked forward. "Hey, big guy" you called up. The massive figure turned his head toward you, letting out an ear-splitting roar. You winced but held your ground, holding out one hand. "Hey now, cut the shit, Hulk!" He blinked slowly at you, huffing out and moving forward. You moved forward as well. "We don't want to hurt you. I know you're upset and scared, but I'm here to help." You motioned for Thor, Steve and Tony to sit down. "You're kidding right?" Tony cried out. "Sit down Stark or so help me God," you screeched through clenched teeth, keeping your eyes on the green figure in front of you. He did. Hulk stopped moving upon seeing the boys sit down. "Hey," you called softly. "Eyes here. I need my boyfriend to come back to me, ok? It's me, Y/N." You sat yourself gently on the ground, painfully aware that one of his feet was about the size of your body. You exhaled slowly, holding out your hand. "You know me. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me." You couldn't see it, but every member of the team had their mouths agape at this point, eyes widening as Hulk lowered himself down, his eyes fixed on your face. You extended you hand further, drawing a line down your palm. "Right here, bud." You called softly. You were as surprised as anyone when a huge, green palm connected softly with yours. You looked up, startled as you met warm brown eyes. "Yes, Bruce. You're safe." You watched as the figure in front of you shrank, the green skin fading back to its normal tone. You caught Bruce as he staggered forward, his human self once more.
He blinked up, slightly dazed as you ran your hand across his cheek, laughing with relief as your eyes sparkled with grateful tears. "Hey, love," you whispered. "I'm right here. You didn't hurt me or anyone. You're safe." Bruce's hand reached out for yours. "But you, how did you, I could hear you talking to me," he muttered. "You brought me back." "Of course I did," you said with a shaky smile. "I'm absolutely brilliant, remember?" Bruce laughed and you pulled him into a hug. "You're amazing, thank you" he breathed in your ear. "I love you so much, Y/N. I don't know how you still love me like this." You kissed him fiercely, breaking apart to gaze at his distraught face. "I love you because you're you, Bruce. With the good the bad and the enormous green guy," you smiled softly. "And that's not going to change, OK?" He smiled that famous shy smile, "Not leaving me for any surfer boys?" he said jokingly, but you knew him well enough to sense the unease in his voice. Your face drew into lines of confusion. "Leave you for surfers? What are you -" The lightbulb went off in your head. Drawing in a very deep inhale, you turned slowly to face Tony. He waved nervously. "Hey, there, lovebirds."
You stood up and Tony hastened backwards, nearly tripping down into the sand. "OK, I was just messing with him, saying he had to protect his territory –meaning you – because otherwise one of these beach bums would sweep you away. Which is obviously not going to happen. Cmon doc, just see how she looks at you all lovey dovey all the time. It's sickening." Neither of you laughed. Tony sighed, taking a serious tone. "Look, Banner, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out and you have nothing to worry about. You clearly adore her just like she adores you." He paused. "Ugh. I can hear the weepy Full House music playing in my head. But yeah, I really am sorry." Bruce looked up. "Thanks, Tony."
He turned his gaze toward you, bringing his arms around your waist. "Well, at least there's a bright side to all of this," Bruce said with a half smile. "What?" You inquired. He kissed you gently, breaking apart to gaze peacefully into your bright eyes. "I finally found my lullaby."